HTC's corporate slogan is "Quietly Brilliant". And to this day, I maintain that no HTC smartphone name had captured the gist of the phrase more than "Desire". Sure, "Sensation" gives a hint of that idea but it's not quite as impassioned.

It's also interesting to note that 'Desire' smartphones, including HTC Desire, HTC Desire S and my 2010 daily phone (if you remember) HTC Desire HD, remain to be most successful handsets from the Taiwanese company thus far. 2010 flagship release HTC Desire HD, for example, was such a best-seller in the UK that carriers like Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange struggled to maintain enough stock of the aluminum-clad device to meet high demand.

I don't really know why HTC had to change "Desire" to "Sensation", then "Sensation" to "One" in its flagship line nomenclature but I'm just glad that the company didn't throw "Desire" out of the window altogether.

Cheap Desire

It may not have the top-of-the-line specifications of glorious handsets that bore its name in the past but at least, 2012 entry-level release HTC Desire C has some potential to become the leader in its category.

Priced at only Php 10,990, HTC Desire C - if my memory serves me right - is the most affordable Android smartphone that comes with Ice Cream Sandwich operating system right out of the box. The handset runs the OS with its 600 MHz processor and handles multitasking with 512 MB of RAM. Other key features include a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with 320 x 480 pixels resolution display, 4 GB of internal storage that's expandable via microSD card slot, and a 5 MegaPixel fixed focus camera with no flash. As for connectivity, the phone supports WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G.

While its innards aren't particularly stellar, HTC Desire C has its own charms. For one, the 3.5-inch screen is rather sizable for an entry-level Android phone and not to mention, the HVGA-resolution display looks crisp. Also, like more expensive recent releases by HTC, the handset features Beats Audio for an enhanced music-listening experience and even comes with HTC Sense 4.0 serving as skin and providing extra-features like FriendStream, which lets users manage and update multiple social networking accounts.

Considering the number of good phones from various brands that are in its price category, I'd imagine HTC Desire C's climb to the top of the sales chart won't be an easy one. However, given its cute design, the fact that it ships with ICS and HTC Sense 4.0, and that it has a decent set of multimedia features, I'm confident that it will do well.

HTC Desire C was officially announced and released in the Philippines last June 29, 2012. It's now available at all HTC stores and authorized retail outlets nationwide.

To wrap this up, I present the complete technical specifications of HTC Desire C --